A man accused of choking a woman and submerging her head in water before chopping up her body with a hacksaw has been found not guilty of her murder.
The jury in the NSW Supreme Court trial of Robert Thomas Best, 49, returned a unanimous verdict today.
Mr Best had pleaded not guilty to murdering Kristi McDougall, a drug dealer, in front of his girlfriend at his Dundas apartment in Sydney's west on June 19, 2010.
The 31-year-old woman's torso was discovered in a Doonside reserve in western Sydney seven weeks later, but her head, arms and legs have never been recovered.
Mr Best's former lover, Debbra Hogden, was a key witness in the trial.
She told the court she watched as Mr Best choked Ms McDougall with a rope and stuck her head in a bucket of water "until the bubbles stopped".
Ms Hogden said he then defiled Ms McDougall's body, before the pair took the drug ice and went to the nearby Ermington Hotel to establish an alibi.
But defence barrister Philip Young, SC, told the jury Ms Hogden's version of events was "fanciful" and "illogical".
The court heard Hogden had pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder after the fact and was placed on a good behaviour bond.
"In deciding whether you can accept Ms Hogden is a reliable and accurate witness, you need to look at her honesty and accuracy," Mr Young said in his closing submissions to the jury.
The crown alleged after Mr Best killed her, he chopped up Ms McDougall's body with a hacksaw and deposited the parts in different locations around Sydney.
The trial, which lasted five weeks, heard Ms McDougall had stopped supplying ice to Mr Best, whose Centrelink payments had been redirected to her account up until 11 days before her death.
The jury also found Mr Best not guilty of the alternative charge of manslaughter.
Justice Stephen Rothman dismissed the charge against Mr Best, who shook hands with his barrister after the verdict was handed down.
Ms McDougall's father, Don McDougall, declined to comment outside court.
